


13

by xmhao



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, First Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-05
Updated: 2020-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:20:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23028436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xmhao/pseuds/xmhao
Summary: Where Junhui’s first love comes and goes as quickly as the winter season.
Relationships: Wen Jun Hui | Jun & Xu Ming Hao | The8, Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Xu Ming Hao | The8
Comments: 11
Kudos: 10





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> long time no see ♡

_Prelude._

Junhui wakes up at the same time every morning, 6 AM sharp. He eats a bowl of the same cheap, store brand oatmeal for breakfast everyday and washes it down with a cup of coffee in the same worn out mug. By 6:45 he’s lacing up the same beat-up sneakers he’s worn for years and, a minute later, he’s out the door. Junhui walks down the same moss covered path to the train station every morning. When he reaches the train station he pulls his wallet out of his back pocket and swipes it over the scanner to let him through to the main platform. An action that he has repeated so many times over the years he could do it with his eyes closed. Junhui then waits about six minutes before the train arrives, and when it does he waits a few seconds for the majority of people to filter in and out before making his way to an open seat. After a forty minute ride, Junhui gets off of the train, scans his wallet once more, and proceeds to take a seven minute walk to school. 

Junhui’s life is one big routine. He repeats the same cycle over and over again, five days a week. He spends his weekends not doing much at all. Being a broke college student will do that to you. Days go by in a blur, everything so routine to a T. But Junhui doesn’t mind. He likes routine. It’s simple and easy. Uncomplicated. Junhui’s not one for chaos and disorder. He likes everything being straightforward and formulated. Enjoys having a schedule and sticking to it. Sure, sometimes things can throw him for a loop now and then. Some days he wakes up on the wrong side of the bed, sometimes the train will be delayed by a few minutes. It happens. But nothing crazy has ever happened that completely derailed Junhui from his day’s objective. 

Until…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it’s been like five(?) months since i’ve posted something???? i convinced myself that i was done with writing and that i’d go into retirement lmao... but idk i felt inspired i guess... maybe bc i’ve been watching a lot of anime recently who knows!!!!
> 
> i’m also kinda excited about this fic i’m trying something a lil different idk we’ll see how it turns out :-)
> 
> so ideally i’d like to post a new chapter everyday until the first day of spring which is on march 19th. 14 days!! which is the perfect amount of time bc i wanted to base this fic off of the 13 weeks of winter and the timing just works out too perfectly but idk how fast or how slow i’ll write this. i’m hoping the time restraint will motivate me to get the chapters out but i am known to be a lazy dumbass so.... i’m hoping i finish this one at least..... i’ve dropped so many wips that i was excited about so i really don’t want to abandon this one :-(
> 
> pls wish me luck lmao ♡
> 
> follow my twitter perhaps??? @shuauwu go yell at me to finish my fics and stay out of writing retirement :-)


	2. Chapter 2

_Week One._

Something is off today. Junhui doesn’t know exactly what it is, but today is definitely weird. Maybe his oatmeal was a little stale this morning, maybe his coffee wasn’t strong enough.

Maybe it’s the shift in seasons. The air is a little different today. It’s like the first signs of winter are hinting at a bigger change that’s to come. 

Junhui shifts in his seat on the train, trying to get comfortable. But no matter what he does it feels like there’s an itch somewhere on him that he can’t scratch and it’s annoying the hell out of him. Whatever. He’s a few stations away from his stop, he’ll just force himself to ignore it. 

When the train gets to the next stop, the doors open and Junhui welcomes the cool rush of air onto his face to hopefully help him snap out of whatever he’s going through right now. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, already feeling better. He concentrates on the loud click-clack of someone’s heeled shoes and the sound of the warning dings signaling that the doors were coming to a close. Junhui opens his eyes and his breath immediately catches in his throat. Sitting across from him is probably the most stunning person he has ever laid eyes on. 

Like. Seriously. 

Absolutely stunning. 

Well, this is new. 

Junhui doesn’t typically pay much attention to his surroundings, let alone other people. He takes the same train at the same time every single day, so he’s bound to somewhat recognize a few faces here and there, but no one really sticks out to him and he doesn’t go out of his way to remember anyone.

But this person is definitely going out of _his_ way to stand out and be remembered. 

The person sitting before Junhui is wearing a bright red overcoat, but his arms seem to be out of the sleeves. So the overcoat is draped across his shoulders, almost like a cape, making him look incredibly refined and high-end. Underneath the overcoat, he’s wearing a simple black tee, accented with layers of chains hanging from his neck. The entire outfit is tied together with a pair of ripped black jeans and heavy looking heeled boots. 

Junhui sneaks a careful glance at the person’s face, wary of lingering stares that might creep him out. His hair is a bit on the longer side, the back grown out and covering his neck, the bangs parted in the middle and brushed off to the sides gracefully. The person is wearing Gucci(!) sunglasses, but is placed backwards on his head. Strange, but Junhui’s not judging. His skin is free from any blemishes and imperfections. Not a wrinkle or smile line in sight. His face seems stern, but not in a mean way. It exudes more of a confident, all-powerful vibe.

Very intense. 

Junhui can’t help but be in awe. He’s never seen anyone like him before. 

Perhaps Junhui was a little bit too much in awe because the person seemed to catch on to his staring and raised his eyes from his phone to look at Junhui. 

Junhui looked away immediately of course, hoping it wasn’t too obvious that he was staring (it was). He catches a hint of a smirk in the corner of his eye and it makes his heart clench. 

Fuck. 

The rest of the ride to his stop is painfully awkward and Junhui can’t wait to get off this train. 

As soon as the train stopped and the doors slid open, Junhui jumped up from his seat and booked it, as calmly and carefully as he could in that situation of course. 

Jesus, who the hell was that? A famous social media influencer? A celebrity trying to fit in with the “normal” people?

Well, doesn’t matter. Junhui will probably never see him again. That train ride was definitely a one time deal for that stranger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> twitter: @shuauwu ♡


	3. Chapter 3

_ Week Two. _

What the fuck?

A full week has gone by without seeing  _ that _ beautiful person on the train. But here he is. Again. And he decided to sit right across from Junhui. Again. 

This time he’s wearing a black turtleneck, paired with a semi-transparent blue button-up. It’s not buttoned up all the way, allowing the silver necklaces around his neck to fall against the solid black of his turtleneck. The rest of his outfit is pretty simple, black ripped jeans (again) finished off with a pair of shiny, pointed shoes. This outfit could have passed as almost normal, Junhui doesn’t quite understand the shirt and sweater combo, but he figured it’s due to his own lack of fashion sense. However, the detail to really pull the outfit together was the belt. No, the belt wasn’t flashy or anything. It wasn’t bright pink and glittery to make him stand out. It was the placement of the belt itself. It was surprising to Junhui, yet incredibly interesting. A plain black belt was put on  _ over  _ his clothes and was perfectly cinched at the waist to accentuate his slim figure. 

Wow.

Junhui is extra careful with his glances this time, making sure to keep them at two seconds max. He hasn’t said a word to this stranger and yet, there’s just something so intriguing about him and he can’t place a finger on what it is. This stranger is obviously one of the prettiest people Junhui has ever seen, but Junhui doesn’t really care much for looks, after all he’s been wearing the same pair of old sneakers for years now.

Junhui doesn’t know a single thing about fashion, clothes and accessories are like a different language to him. When he does have to buy clothes (something he hasn’t done in quite awhile), he’ll pick something that is comfortable, and most importantly, affordable. 

Junhui thinks that who a person is on the inside is much more important than what they look like on the outside. He doesn’t judge a person based on how they look because their personalities, morals, manners, habits, whatever, could completely contradict their appearance. Junhui has seen it many times before. 

Something about this stranger before him makes him want to dig into his mind, his soul. Junhui finds himself wanting to learn everything about this stranger, from his favorite ice cream flavor to his political stance. 

It’s definitely weird to say the least. If Junhui had a choice, he’d spend as little time as possible when it comes to interacting with another person (unless it was absolutely necessary). He’ll do it for school of course, but outside any professional setting he prefers to keep to himself. 

Perhaps that’s why he’s never dated anyone before. 

Alright, Junhui, let’s not go there. It’s too early in the morning to go around feeling bad for yourself.

Junhui knows it’s 100% his fault for not putting himself out there, but God... talking to people is hard. 

…

Huh?

A week ago Junhui would not have found himself having thoughts like this. He is perfectly content with his life. He loves being a lone wolf. Loves his independence. Loves not having to deal with someone else. Loves that he can stick to his routines without anyone getting in the way. 

So why the hell is he thinking about his dating life (or lack thereof)?

It has never bothered him in the past. 

On top of that, why the hell is he so concerned about a random person sitting across from him on the train? Junhui has been taking this same train for years, but has never had a second thought about anyone on it before.

How has the presence of a complete stranger, someone that he’s never even spoken a single word to, taken hold of his thoughts and twist them completely?

Annoying.

Nope, there’s no way Junhui is going to let some stranger on the train mess with his thoughts like this.

It’s so unlike him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i'm a dumbass bc as i was writing out ideas for the next chapter i realized that schools typically go on break during the holidays so junhui would have no reason to be taking the train after like, the second week lmaofghdfg... so.... idk how i'm gonna write out the next couple of chapters maybe i'll think of something... but if not, just pretend winter/holiday break doesn't exist in this world hhfhghf
> 
> but also it's not that deep and i'm just makin stuff up for funsies lol :-)
> 
> i'm also just now realizing that the first few chapters are Very Slow... but i got a whole lotta chapters to write which i've never done before and i wanna make sure i set it up Right and get the mood goin u kno......
> 
> anyways! if ur actually reading this fic thank u and i love u ♡


	4. Chapter 4

_Week Three._

Junhui is mixing his oatmeal, slowly, absent-mindedly. He’s been mixing his oatmeal for the past five minutes, at this rate he’s going to miss his usual train. 

Junhui breathes out a sigh, his breath visibly mixing with the cool, winter air. The heat isn’t on, or more like, _never_ on. Junhui usually gets through the colder seasons by wearing five layers of sweaters around the apartment. He insists on saving on the electric bill by never adjusting the thermostat. 

Maybe Junhui will pull out his favorite scarf for today, one his mother knitted for him a few Christmases ago. It’s nothing too fancy, it’s plain and brown but very thick and fluffy and warm, which is all that matters.

Junhui’s mixing comes to a halt. He feels like taking his time today. He’s in no rush to get out to the cold. And it probably wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if he misses his train...

Okay, seriously. What the fuck.

Since when has Junhui ever been so conscious of another person that he’s willing to ruin his routine just to avoid them?

Is he trying to avoid him?

Why should he? 

Jesus… what is going on right now?

Junhui is _not_ going to let this person affect his life like this.

He doesn’t even _know_ him.

Junhui quickly shovels bite after bite of oatmeal into his mouth to make up for lost time. He’s six minutes behind schedule now. 

Damn it. 

\--

What the actual hell?

Is he in costume? What is he wearing?

Junhui is so surprised by the beautiful stranger’s outfit choice for the day that he has no room to be annoyed at the fact that Mr. Stranger is sitting in front of him again. 

Is he actively trying to stand out all the time?

Junhui doesn’t understand.

He’s wearing a bright orange and blue windbreaker with matching pants, topped off with a blue dad hat and black boots. 

Is this fashion?

The colors seem to be familiar in a way. Where has he seen this before?

Ah.

He looks like a tide pod.

The realization causes Junhui to chuckle softly, which he attempts to pass off as him clearing his throat.

It’s none of his business what other people wear.

However, Junhui _is_ concerned over how practical the outfit is with the current weather. Is he even warm? He’ll probably catch a cold if he continues with his flashy fashion statements.

Junhui catches himself. 

He’s thinking about him again. 

Why the hell does this keep happening?

Does he have to transfer schools so he can take a different route or is that too hasty?

Junhui is so lost in his own thoughts that he doesn’t even realize he’s spaced out until the clatter of something tiny and metallic falling to the ground brings him back to reality. He looks down in front of his feet and it’s a pen. And it’s rolling towards him. 

Junhui bends over to pick it up and is met with another hand whose thin, but elegant fingers are covered in rings of various shapes and designs. Junhui flinches away and the hand grabs the pen before it rolls under the seat. 

Embarrassed that he failed to rescue the pen himself, Junhui sits back up in his seat and mutters a quick apology. 

“It’s fine, it was my fault.”

That voice… 

Fuck, it’s sexy as hell. 

Junhui looks up and his heart instantly starts hammering away. 

The weirdly beautiful, sexy (not that Junhui thinks he’s sexy or anything) stranger is looking at him with a smile that doesn’t reach his deep, brown eyes. It’s one of those smiles you give to strangers to be polite, but isn’t warm or kind enough that it welcomes unwanted conversation. 

Junhui finds himself wanting to say something. Anything. He knows that wanting to talk to a complete stranger is extremely out of character, but this is probably his only chance to interact with this person. This person who has completely taken over his thoughts without his consent and much to Junhui’s dismay.

Junhui opens his mouth despite not knowing what to say, but instantly closes it back up. The stranger tapped on his right ear and Junhui noticed that he was wearing airpods. 

Of course the man owns airpods. 

Junhui doesn’t own anything of the sort, he’s had the same pair of (wired) earbuds for as long as he can remember (only one side works but no one has to know that). 

So that’s how it is, huh. Looks like the man isn’t the least bit interested in conversing with Junhui. Makes sense, though. Not a lot of people are willing to strike up conversations with randoms on the train. 

Especially Junhui. 

\--

When the train gets to the next stop, the doors open and a strong gust of wind blows through. 

It’s so sudden and strong that it causes some papers to go flying. This time Junhui reacts quicker and grabs onto the papers that fell to the ground. He straightens the papers out and notices that they’re covered in sketches.

Really good sketches.

Of people.

Woah. 

Is this one of… Junhui?

The papers are snatched from his hands before Junhui can confirm if the drawing was of him.

Junhui almost loses his balance from where he’s squatting on the ground and he whips his head around to see who the papers belong to.

Oh.

The pretty stranger is frantically trying to shove the loose papers back into his notebook.

"Hey-," Junhui starts. 

But the man has already turned on his heel and is walking to the other end of the train.

Ah, his ears are red.

Cute.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> peepee poopoo junhui is Big Gay but wbk
> 
> twitter: @shuauwu ♡


	5. Chapter 5

_Week Four._

So Mr. Stranger is an artist?

Or Junhui assumes. 

The man definitely has an artistic aura to him. Especially considering his choice of clothing. 

Junhui wonders what kind of outfit he will see today. Not that he’s looking forward to seeing him or anything. The man just has an interesting style, is all. It also serves as a sensory stimulant of sorts for Junhui in the early mornings, the loud, flashy outfits definitely wake his tired eyes up. 

Or this is all just an excuse and Junhui wants to see him again.

In an ideal world, Junhui would be able to go up to the stranger and ask him if he did indeed draw a picture of Junhui. But this is reality and Junhui would rather jump out of the moving train than do something so humiliating.

The train pulls up to the stop where _he_ usually gets on. Many people walk in and out, and several moments pass but… nothing. 

The doors close and the train continues its way along the tracks.

Huh, weird.

Junhui checks his mental calendar. It’s definitely Monday. And this is definitely his stop.

So, where is he?

Maybe Junhui scared him off. Of course. Any normal person would be embarrassed if they were caught drawing someone they didn’t know by said person they didn’t know. 

Junhui sighs. Well, at least he can relax a little bit for once. That stranger’s presence really throws him off anyways. Junhui closes his eyes and slumps in his seat a little. His body had stiffened up with anxiety as he was waiting for him to appear. He turns the volume up on his phone, letting the music take over. His current favorite song is playing and he already feels more at ease. 

_Once you call me over_

_I’ll be fallin’ in front of you_

_To your warm embrace_

_The future that once seemed hazy_

_Turns vivid because I met you_

_Swaying, dancing_

_Like the wind_

_Swaying, dancing_

_The destination point for this falling heart_

_Is the greatest happiness in the world_

_Gazing at the blue sky_

_Blooming once again_

_I want to be someone’s everything_

Hm…

What kind of music does _he_ listen to? 

At first glance, he would seem like someone who listens to obscure bands with a heavy and intense sound. But after last week’s incident, Junhui is certain that the man with the stone-cold exterior definitely has a soft (more approachable) side.

Junhui smiles to himself when he pictures how red the poor guy’s ears got when his sketches were exposed.

Junhui opens his eyes and looks down at his phone. 

Would he like any of these songs?

Junhui skips song after song, trying to find one that he thinks this random stranger would like. 

Oh.

This one is perfect.

_In the fog, appearing and disappearing suddenly_

_A silhouette that is unfamiliar but also familiar_

_That silhouette is unpredictable_

_Floating, disappearing, laughing_

_Keeping me away, letting me closer_

_Waving hands, like it’s there_

_Tell me about it_

_If there is another world_

_Could you be the other me?_

_Getting closer to you, step by step_

_The ground in front is full of thorns_

_Stretch out your hands, I am there in front of you_

_We will meet, don’t yearn for me_

_I’ll know, oh_

_I am your future_

_I’ll know, oh_

_You are my past_

It kind of reminds Junhui of this dark and mysterious stranger that has completely invaded his thoughts. At first, it seems like the tone of the song itself is a bit darker, but once you really give it a good listen and dissect the meaning behind the lyrics, it’s truly a beautiful song that holds deep, profound emotions. 

But then again... Who is he kidding? Junhui knows next to nothing about this guy. He's not going to sit here and and attempt to analyze him. 

The train arrives at Junhui’s stop just as the song is finishing up. Junhui stands up and unplugs his earbuds, bunching them up into a tangled mess before throwing them into his pocket. As he walks to the closest set of doors to exit the train, he’s met with a small crowd of people stuck in the doorway. Why can’t people wait for everyone to exit before trying to enter? Now there’s an unnecessary traffic jam of people. No one seems to be budging so he quickly makes his way down towards the end of the train to use a different exit. Just as he’s about to leave, Junhui sees a familiar head of hair out of the corner of his eye. Junhui thoughtlessly steps off of the train, but spins his head around and the world moves in slow motion, just like in the movies.

It’s him.

He’s sitting at the very end of the train today. 

Junhui wants to laugh. Okay, maybe he _was_ embarrassed by his sketches and didn’t want to face Junhui again.

How cute.

The stranger raises his head from his phone and looks out the window. Their eyes meet instantly and Junhui can see a hint of a blush forming on his ears.

Oh man.

And before he knows it, the train is gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyone else got fallin' flower on repeat? :')
> 
> i wasn't planning on it, but after listening to fallin' flower and reading the lyrics i just had to add it to this chapter dfhjfhg i was already planning on a music-related chapter so the timing was perfect :-)
> 
> also!
> 
> idk if i'm gonna keep up with this whole "a chapter a day" thing tbh hhhhfdghd.....
> 
> especially since i want to get more in depth in the later chapters... i don't wanna rush them or anything and i don't wanna stress myself out with this time limit thing lmao....
> 
> sooo if i don't post a new chapter tomorrow i probably had a huge brain fart!!!
> 
> i will definitely keep updating this tho bc i have nothing better to do!!! :-)
> 
> as always, thank you for reading ♡
> 
> **fallin' flower english lyrics from @cabbageshu on twitter**  
> **my i (chinese ver) english lyrics from @seventeenlyrics on youtube**
> 
> twitter: @shuauwu ♡


End file.
